Under preferred operating conditions steam generators, such as, for example, the type used in turbo-electric power generation systems, require feedwater which is virtually free of dissolved salts and organic contaminants. This is necessary in part because halide ions, e.g. chlorides, will attack the oxide layer of stainless steel components in the power system resulting in pitting and corrosion of precision machinery. Furthermore, at steam generator temperatures organic compounds react with water and steam to form carboxylic acids and carbonic acid. While the chemical effects of these relatively weak acids on the power generating system are only partially known, their presence does interfere with efforts to detect strong acids such as hydrogen chloride. Unfortunately, the potential sources of organic compounds in a steam power generating system are numerous and are often discovered only after considerable research. Moreover, the presence of chlorinated hydrocarbons in steam generators results in a compound problem wherein the organic matter reacts to form both hydrogen chloride and weak acids. Because the weak acids influence monitoring of newly formed chloride ions, chlorinated organic compounds may be an undetected source of damage.
In the past, steam generating systems have been monitored in order to determine whether dissolved salts and organic compounds are present in the steam, but it is not believed that any effort has been made to distinguish contaminants formed by chemical breakdown in the steam generator system from contaminants otherwise present in the feedwater. For example, in order to identify the source of a newly discovered corrosion contaminant, e.g. a chloride, it is desirable to know whether the contaminant came into the system through the feedwater without change in chemical form or resulted from the reaction of organic matter with steam water.